You probably know who Marie Curie was, but you may not have heard of Rachel Carson．Of the outstanding ladies listed below, who do you think was the most important woman of the past 100 years?

    Jane Addams (1860-1935)

    Anyone who has ever been helped by a social worker has Jane Addams to thank．Addams helped the poor and worked for peace．She encouraged a sense of community (社区) by creating shelters and promoting education and services for people in need．In 1931, Addams became the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize．

    Rachel Carson (1907-1964)

    If it weren't for Rachel Carson, the environmental movement might not exist today．Her popular 1962 book Silent Spring raised awareness of the dangers of pollution and the harmful effects of chemicals on humans and on the world's lakes and oceans．

    Sandra Day O'Connor (1930-present)

    When Sandra Day O'Connor finished third in her class at Stanford Law School, in 1952, she could not find work at a law firm because she was a woman．She became an Arizona state senator (参议员) and, in 1981, the first woman to join the U.S. Supreme Court．O'Connor gave the deciding vote in many important cases during her 24 years on the top court．

    Rose Parks (1913-2005)

    On December 1, 1995, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks would not give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger．Her simple act landed Parks in prison．But it also set off the Montgomery bus boycott．It lasted for more than a year, and kicked off the civil-rights movement．"The only tired I was, was tired of giving in," said Parks．

Years ago, I lived in a building in a large city. The next building was only a few feet away from mine. There was a woman who lived there, whom I had never met, yet I could see her seated by her window each afternoon, sewing or reading. 

After several months had gone by, I began to notice that her window was dirty. Everything was unclear through the dirty window. I would say to myself, “I wonder why that woman doesn’t wash her window. It really looks terrible.”

One bright morning I decided to clean my flat, including washing the window on the inside.Late in the afternoon when I finished the cleaning, I sat down by the window with a cup of coffee for a rest. What a surprise! Across the way, the woman sitting by her window was clearly visible. Her window was clean!

Then it dawned on me. I had been criticizing her dirty window, but all the time I was watching hers through my own dirty window.That was quite an important lesson for me. How often had I looked at and criticized others through the dirty window of my heart, through my own shortcomings?

Since then, whenever I wanted to judge someone, I asked myself first, “Am I looking at him through my own dirty window?” I try to clean the window of my own world so that I may see the world about me more clearly.

My friend Jessie and I have known each other since we were very young. Friendships get more precious as we get older, and when we reached our forties, we decided we needed to put in a little more work to keep our friendship strong, healthy and growing. We pick out one Saturday a month and promise to do something together. Sometimes we have a long lunch out. Other times we go to see a movie or shopping. But at least once a quarter, we have an adventure.

In some adventures we drove to our favorite places. In other adventures we spent a night in a place sharing a festival like Christmas or sometimes we just drove, stopping wherever we wanted. We have headed out of the state to Tennessee. We have tried out new restaurants and new shops.

One of our adventures took us to a very small town in south Georgia. It was one of those watermelon or cotton or peanut festivals, and we enjoyed buying the handmade gifts and eating the terrific foods. The most impressive was a parade, with local school marching bands and service groups. We joined the parade and began smiling and waving! Everyone smiled and waved back! Of course, their smiling faces turned confused and puzzled as we passed in our car. “Who are these women?” they must have wondered. Finally, we turned a corner and a serious-looking policeman directed us back to the highway. We really had a great day!

Fun is always on the menu, whether it’s a weekend trip or a couple of hours over lunch. We talk and have influence on each other’s life. We share our struggles and our happiness. We ask for and receive advice. And we laugh!

Don’t keep promising yourself that “someday soon” you will get together with them. Do it now. Pick up your phone and make a plan for this weekend. You need it. Your friend needs it. You’ll be a happier, healthier person for it!

Andy lived high in the Rocky Mountains. He hunted wild animals there and he also took other men to hunt, which was his work.

   One day a letter brought Andy a new job. This job changed both his feeling about animals and his way of hunting. The letter said, “I want to write a story about bighorn sheep (大角羊). I need pictures to go with my story. Will you get pictures of the sheep for me?”

   Andy's two sons wanted their father to take the job. “We will help you!” they said. Bighorn sheep are very wild. Andy knew it would be hard to get their pictures. “But why not try?” they said.

   For days, Andy and his sons tried to get their pictures. They did not want the sheep to hear them or see them, so they walked softly. They hid behind rocks, but the sheep always ran away.

   Then one day, Andy and his sons walked around a big rock. They met some sheep face to face, but they didn't run. “Now I know why the sheep run away,” Andy said. “They run because we come up behind them. From now on, we will stay where they can see us.”

   The next day, Andy saw some sheep right out in the open. He and his sons walked toward them. They did not try to hide, and they did walk slowly. They knew that any fast move would frighten them away.

   “Don't look direct at the sheep,” Andy said. “Wild animals do not like to be looked at. They will run away.” They looked off to this side and to that side, and they walked closer and closer. And soon they were close enough to get good clear pictures.

   They made good friends with the wild sheep and sent many fine pictures to the writer for his story. Since then, they have never hunted the bighorn sheep again.

Have you ever heard about the saying“Honesty is the best policy”? Here is a story about it.

One day a poor man was cutting a big piece of wood near a river. Suddenly his old axe fell into the water. He felt very sad because he lost his only axe. Then all at once a beautiful fairy came out and asked the man what was the matter.

"I have lost my axe," he said." It fell into the water when I was cutting the wood."

The fairy showed him a gold axe and asked," Is this yours?"

"No," said the man.

The fairy then showed him a silver axe and asked again," Is this yours?" "No," again answered the man.

Then she showed him the old axe.

"Yes, that is mine," called out the happy man.

"I know that well enough," said the fairy. " I only wanted to see if you would tell me the truth, and now I'll give you the gold axe and the silver axe besides your own one."

A food delivery courier (快递员) in Sichuan recently became an internet sensation (网红) after it became famous that he sent messages to his customers in English.

The courier，called Mao Shaomu, is 18 years old. He came to Sichuan International Studies University (SISU) to be a courier at the beginning of March.

Mao told Chongqing Morning Post that the English mes sages he sends to customers are a way for him to practice English, since he expects that SISU students can all speak English.

Mao didn’t do well in science classes at the beginning in his middle school years, but he was always very good at English. Encouraged (鼓励) by his English teacher, who got a university degree through studying by himself, Mao chose to drop out of high school. Ever since, entering SISU has become a dream for the young man.

Each job Mao took after leaving his high school was not long enough because he always wanted to study English. Last September he took a part-rime job at a bar, hoping it would give him the chance to talk with foreigners.

At the beginning of March, he left his job again and became a food delivery courier at SISU. All the while he was still preparing for the college entrance exam, which will be held in the second half of this year.

These days, midday is the busiest time for Mao, and he uses most afternoons to study English. He said he wanted to study English or international communications. He also hopes to go to Beijing to get a master’s degree and become an interpreter (口译员).

Dogs Trust is taking to the streets trying to stop thousands of puppies（小狗） being bought without enough consideration this Christmas, only to be cruelly abandoned soon after. Twelve artworks have been designed to describe the shocking reasons given to Dogs Trust, across its 20 Rehoming Centres in the UK, by owners who no longer wish to care for their dogs. Every day Dogs Trust takes in dogs of all shapes and sizes, often accompanied by unbelievable reasons why their owners are giving them up. The main reason given by owners is that the dogs need more attention than they can give. Other reasons include:

“He kept running after frogs.”

“He looked different after we walked him in the rain.”

“I’m worried our baby will copy him.”

“My dog is old and going to die soon.”

“He barks every morning.”

“She seemed hungry all the time and followed me around the house.”

Sadly, the huge increase in online pet selling has led to many dealers turning to the Internet to advertise their puppies. Giles Webber, Operations Director says,“With more and more puppies flooding the Christmas market, all is available at the click of a button - it is more necessary than ever that our message “A dog is For Life, Not Just For Christmas” is planted in people’s minds.”

“We hope that this activity will encourage people to think twice before buying a puppy. Our aim is to make sure that the artwork will be the only abandoned dogs the British public will see on their streets this Christmas period.” Webber added.